Paper  on  Cotter-Seed  Oil 
and  Cotton-Seed  Oil 


Henry  V.   Ogden 


IRLF 


SB    31 


nn  MITTQ 

U1L  IlLLo, 


READ  BY 


Mr,  HENRY  V.  OGDEN,  Resident  Secretary, 


SOUTHERN  DEPARTMENT 


LIVERPOOL  AND  LONDON  AND  GLOBE  INSURANCE  CO , 


BEFORE  THE- 


TJBDEEWKITEKS'  ASSOCIATION  OF  THE  SOUTH, 


MAY  26,  1880. 


CONSTITUTION  PRINT,  36  BROAD  STREET. 
1@80. 


•OX' 


fin  *  Pfwrnw  QCEH  nn  MTTTQ 

UlL^s  uullUrl-oDBlJ  U1L  IlLLo, 


BEAD  BY 


Mr.  HENRY  V.  OGDEN,  Resident  Secretary, 


SOUTHKRN  DKPARTMENT 


OF  THE  • 


LIVERPOOL  AND  LONDON  AND  GLOBE  INSURANCE  CO, 


•BEFORE  THE- 


UNDERWBITEKS'  ASSOCIATION  OF  THE  SOUTH, 


MAY  26,  1880. 


CONSTITUTION  PRINT,  36  BROAD  STREET. 
1880. 


c 


aT 

ft? 


1  ASSOCIATION  |  SOUTH, 


Cotton-Seed  Oil  and  Cotton-Seed  Oil  Mills, 


HENRY  V.  OGDEN. 
Mr.  President  and  Qenttemen  of  the  Association  : 

I  have  been  invited  to  address  you  on  the  subject  of  Cotton- 
Seed  Oil  and  Cotton-Seed  Oil  Mills  as  connected  with  the  busi- 
ness of  underwriting.  In  discussing  a  subject  which  might 
naturally  be  supposed  to  excite  our  interest  in  proportion  only 
as  it  concerns  our  business,  I  find  myself  in  the  presence  of  so 
much  else  of  interest  to  our  community  as  to  justify  me  in  giv- 
ing my  investigation  a  wider  range. 

The  origin  and  growth  of  an  industry  so  rapidly  expanding 
in  extent  and  importance,  is,  in  itself,  full  of  interest.  The  his- 
tory of  its  gradual  development,  its  present  status,  and  possible 
future,  rightly  claim  our  attention.  Its  great  value  to  the 
country  in  successfully  utilizing  a  hitherto  almost  wasted  pro- 
duct of  our  soil,  and  converting  it  into  articles  valuable  for  ex- 
port and  for  home  consumption,  merits  more  than  a  passing 
consideration. 

The  utilization  of  the  seed  of  the  cotton  plant  was  a  discovery 
of  no  slight  magnitude  and  importance;  the  great  value  of  which 
was  not  revealed  to  us  suddenly.  It  came,  as  most  great  dis- 
coveries do,  accompanied  by  pecuniary  loss,  delay  and  disap- 
pointment ;  and  was  successfully  established  only  after  repeated 
failures. 

It  was  a  memorable  day  in  the  history  of  the  South  when  the 
value  of  the  seed  was  first  perceived  and  appreciated.  It  would 
ill  become  us,  who  now  reap  the  value  of  the  discovery,  to  omit 
recording  with  pride  and  respect  the  names  of  its  authors.  We 
ought  to  pay  our  tribute  of  praise  and  honor  to  the  men  who 
first  gave  birth  to  the  idea,  and  afterwards  sacrificed  so  much  in 


4764 


their  efforts  to  give  it  a  practical  value.  It  is  none  the  less  to 
their  credit  that  they  failed  to  make  it  a  pecuniary  success  for 
themselves.  Such,  unfortunately,  is  the  common  fate  of  in- 
ventors. They  had  faith  in  it,  and  were  sustained  by  that  faith ; 
and  wrought  on  through  trials,  vexations,  and  disappointments, 
and  to-day  we  reap  the  advantage  of  their  long  and  dearly 
bought  experience.  All  honor,  then,  to  those  unrewarded  pio- 
neers !  Most  of  them  realized  nothing  from  their  labor.  Many 
of  them  lived  long  enough  (and  some  are  still  with  us)  to  see 
the  final  result  of  their  toil  and  sacrifice — in  a  country  enriched 
— in  a  commerce  enlarged — and  the  general  prosperity  en- 
hanced. 

Until  the  year  1855  cotton  seed  cannot  be  said  to  have  had 
any  commercial  value.  It  had  in  fact  lain  open  to  the  eye  and 
ready  to  the  hand  for  generations,  yet  none  saw  it  for  what  it 
was,  and  none  reached  out  to  grasp  it.  In  the  greater  worth 
of  the  fleecy  staple  the  value  of  the  oily  seed  hidden  within  its 
folds,  remained  unperceived.  The  genius  of  Whitney  had  pro- 
vided the  means  of  separating  the  one  from  the  other,  but  the 
secret  of  the  wealth  stored  up  in  the  seed  was  yet  unrevealed. 
Possibly  some  one  planter,  more  intelligent  or  more  thrifty  than 
another,  had  used  it  to  fertilize  his  fields  or  feed  his  cattle.  But 
more  frequently  it  was  regarded  as  useless  refuse  of  the  gathered 
crop,  thrown  out  as  such,  and,  exposed  to  air  and  wet,  it  became 
not  infrequently,  by  spontaneous  combustion,  a  source  of  dis- 
aster to  the  slovenly  planter,  or  the  more  unfortunate  under- 
writer. 

There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  first  move  toward 
the  extraction  of  oil  from  cotton  seed  was  made  at  Natchez, 
Miss.,  in  the  year  1834.  So  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  ascertain? 
the  great  honor  of  this  first  attempt  belongs  to  Messrs.  James 
Hamilton  Couper  and  Samuel  Plummer,  of  Georgia,  and  associ- 
ated with  them  were  Mr.  Follett,  of  Norfolk,  Ya,,  and  Major 
Anderson  Miller,  of  Louisville,JKy.  The  late  Archibald  Dunbar, 
and  other  prominent  citizens  of  Mississippi,  invested  liberally 
of  their  means,  and  shared  the  pecuniary  loss  that  followed. 
The  few  who  remember  Mr.  Couper  speak  of  him  as  a  man 
wonderfully  gifted  in  general  intelligence  and  business  capacity. 
His  large  resources  gave  an  impulse  to  the  enterprise,  and  re- 
sulted in  the  putting  up  of  the  first  mill  and  machinery.  In 


5 

every  respect,  so  far  as  known,  the  attempt  was  a  disastrous 
failure.  We  will  not  speculate  on  the  fact  that  the  machinery 
was  inadequate,  or  the  process  defective,  or  that  there  was  no 
general  market  for  the  products. 

When  you  are  told  that  in  this  first  mill  the  pressure  to  ex- 
tract the  oil  was  obtained  from  the  simple  wedge  principle,  you 
can  easily  imagine  how  rude  and  inadequate  to  success  were  all 
the  other  appliances.  At  this  safer  distance  of  time,  and  guided 
by  the  clear,  cold  light  of  experience,  we  recognize  a  fact  that 
seems  to  hold  good,  alike  in  the  moral  and  physical  world,  that 
great  ideas  or  great  results  are  seldom  either  hastily  or  easily 
realized. 

There  is  too  often  a  tinge  of  sadness  and  romance  in  the  his- 
tory of  inventors.  They  sow,  but  they  seldom  reap ;  they  con- 
ceive the  idea;  they  launch  the  thought;  but  in  striving  for 
practical  results,  they  are  generally  lost  in  the  stormy  waters 
of  experience.  It  was  so  with  those  who  first  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  cotton-seed  oil.  As  has  been  truly  said,  it  is  al- 
ways the  first  step  that  costs.  However,  a  beginning  had  been 
made,  and  the  remembrance  of  failure  in  this  case  had  at  least 
served  to  keep  the  idea  alive. 

In  the  year  1852,  just  eighteen  years  later,  it  attracted  the 
attention  of  Wm.  Wilbur  and  Frederick  Goode,  citizens  of  New 
Orleans.  These  gentlemen,  as  strong  in  their  faith  in  the  origi- 
nal idea  as  their  predecessors  had  been,  embarked  their  all  in  a 
new  attempt  to  give  it  practical  value.  They  conceived  and 
carried  out  the  plan  of  a  mill,  machinery,  and  process  of  extrac- 
tion, crude  and  imperfect,  perhaps,  but  still  a  great  improvement 
over  the  Natchez  mill  of  1834,  and  which  has  been  the  inspira- 
tion of  much  that  has  followed.  Their  improvements  enabled 
them  to  make  oil  and  clarify  it ;  they  made  the  first  soap  and 
sold  the  first  oil  cake,  but  they  did  so  only  to  share  the  fate  of 
their  predecessors  of  1834,  for,  like  them,  they  were  pecuniarily 
ruined.  They  had,  however,  succeeded  far  enough  to  convince 
themselves,  and  demonstrate  to  others,  the  possibility  of  the  in- 
dustry. 

In  the  year  1855,  Mr.  C.  W.  Bradbury,  of  New  Orleans,  en- 
gaged in  the  enterprise.  Energetic  and  intelligent,  he  was  no- 
tably the  first  to  demonstrate,  beyond  any  question,  the  feasi- 
bility of  the  manufacture.  Laboring  under  many  disadvantages, 


not  the  least  of  them  the  lack  of  capital  necessary  to  efficiently 
carry  out  his  own  ideas  of  the  business,  he  was  unfortunately 
obliged  to  suspend  operations  for  the  time  being,  resuming  again 
under  better  auspices,  only  to  be  interrupted  and  ruined  by  the 
breaking  out  of  the  civil  war. 

No  doubt  most  great  enterprises  begin  with  brains  rather 
than  with  capital,  and  they  aie  most  successful  when  their 
growth,  though  slow,  is  strengthened  and  supported  by  the  ex« 
perience  and  the  profits  of  each  successive  year.  This  has  been 
fairly  illustrated  in  the  success  of  the  manufacture  of  cotton- 
seed oil  in  the  South. 

Happily  for  New  Orleans,  there  were  a  few  men  endowed 
with  the  foresight  and  intelligence  that  enabled  them  to  recog- 
nize the  great  value  and  importance  of  the  industry.  Among 
them  may  be  named  Messrs.  Paulin  Martin,  F.  M.  Fisk,  Paul 
Aldige  and  A.  A.  Maginnis.  These  gentlemen  took  up  the  busi- 
ness where  Mr.  Bradbury  left  it.  They  had  the  resources  of 
capital  and  credit;  and,  with  the  experience  of  others  to  assist, 
they  operated  successfully  up  to  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  in 
1861.  Again  there  was  a  pause  in  the  onward  movement.  But 
with  peace  came  fresh  capital,  and  the  permanent  revival  of  the 
industry.  Each  succeeding  year  has  witnessed  a  steady  increase 
in  the  capacity  and  number  of  the  mills,  with  a  corresponding 
improvement  in  machinery. 

To-day,  statistically  speaking,  the  situation  is  this:  There 
are  forty-one  mills  operating  in  the  Southern  States,  distributed 
as  follows:  Mississippi,  nine;  Louisiana,  nine;  Tennessee,  eight; 
Texas,  six;  Arkansas,  four;  Missouri,  two ;  Alabama,  two;  and 
Georgia,  one.  A  complete  list  of  the  mills,  and  their  location, 
will  be  found  appended  to  this  paper. 

As  preliminary  to  a  short  account  of  the  different  processes 
involved  in  the  manufacture  of  cotton-seed  oil,  it  will  be  well  to 
consider  for  a  moment  the  seed  itself.  The  area  of  its  produc- 
tion may  bo  briefly  comprehended  as  lying  between  the  30th 
and  36th  parallels  of  latitude,  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  At- 
lantic ocean,  and  on  the  west  embracing  all  of  Texas  and  Ar- 
kansas. The  line  of  perfect  growth,  so-called,  having  regard  to 
climate  and  soil,  being  parallel  thirty-two.  The  quality  and 
quantity  of  the  seed  are  greatly  governed  by  the  character  of 
the  season. 


As  it  falls  from  the  cotton  gin  of  the  plantation  it  is  not  en- 
tirely divested  of  its  fibre,  and  though,  at  first  sight,  the  little 
left  would  seem  scarcely  worth  the  manipulation  necessary  to 
secure  it,  yet,  as  will  be  seen  later  on,  it  is  an  important  factor 
in  the  profits  of  the  business.  Much  depends  upon  the  care  of 
the  seed,  both  in  the  hands  of  the  planter,  and  after  it  has  passed 
into  the  charge  of  the  mills.  From  its  oily  nature  it  is  inherently 
predisposed  to  heat,  and  this,  if  permitted,  materially  injures  all 
its  products,  and  practically  the  same  result  follows  if  exposed 
to  dampness.  Fortunately  the  expanse  of  territory  over  which 
the  growth  extends  is  so  wide,  it  is  seldom  that  a  fair  average 
of  quality  is  not  secured.  The  seed  is  gathered  from  the  plan- 
tation in  sacks,  and  when  so  stored  may,  with  a  reasonable 
amount  of  ventilation,  keep  sound  a  twelve-month,  but  in  some 
seasons,  with  the  best  of  care,  unaccountably  fails  to  do  so. 
Stored  in  bulk,  it  is  still  more  liable  to  become  heated,  and  re- 
quires more  than  ordinary  means  of  ventilation  to  prevent  dam- 
age. It  is  purchased  deliverable  in  New  Orleans,  this  season, 
at  the  rate  of  ten  dollars  per  ton  of  two  thousand  pounds.  To 
the  experienced  operator,  an  examination  by  the  naked  eye  will 
not  always  detect  deterioration  ;  but  if  subjected  to  the  micro- 
scope, however,  and  found  bright  in  color,  it  is  sound  ;  if  in  the 
least  discolored,  it  has  brobably  been  heated  or  frosted. 

Having  brought  the  seed  to  the  mill,  we  will  now  follow  it 
through  the  various  processes  of  the  manufacture.  After  a 
thorough  sifting  to  free  it  from  dust  and  other  foreign  substances, 
it  passes  to  the  linters.  These  are  very  similar  to  the  country 
gin-stand,  differing  mainly  in  this :  that,  instead  of  having  sixty 
or  eighty  saws,  they  have  one  hundred  and  ten,  bringing  them 
closer  together,  say  about  one-half  inch  apart,  and  the  teeth 
very  finely  set.  The  linters  partially  divest  the  seed  of  the  fibre 
that  has  escaped  the  planter's  gin.  We  say  partially,  for  as  yet 
no  process  has  been  devised  that  will  divest  the  seed  of  all  fibre. 
The  operation  is  rapidly  performed;  and  from  the  linters,  through 
condensers,  there  rolls  out  a  continuous  flow  of  cotton,  very 
short  in  staple,  but  generally  clean  and  white.  From  every  ton 
of  seed  thus  treated  there  is  realized  about  twenty-two  pounds 
of  cotton,  known  in  commerce  as  linters,  generally  considered 
too  good  for  paper  stock,  but  much  used  in  the  manufacture 
of  cotton-batting.  From  the  linters  it  goes  to  the  press,  and  is 


8 

made  into  bales  of  from  five  to  six  hundred  pounds  each,  and  is 
then  ready  for  market,  the  best  grades  selling  at  from  eight  to 
nine  cents  per  pound. 

Having  disposed  of  the  cotton  gained  in  the  linting  process, 
we  will  return  to  the  seed,  which,  as  it  is  dispossessed  of  its  fibre, 
falls  from  the  linters,  and  is  automatically  carried  to  the  huller 
or  decorticator,  where  in  turn  it  is  as  rapidly  divested  of  the 
hull  protecting  the  kernel,  as  it  was  of  its  fibre  by  the  linters. 
As  this  is  being  done  both  kernel  and  hull  fall  into  serenes,  and 
are  separated ;  the  hulls,  automatically  carried  to  the  furnace, 
supply  all  the  fuel  needed,  and  may  be  further  utilized  by  leach- 
ing the  ashes — making  lye,  which  is  sometimes  used  to  clarify 
the  oil. 

To  go  back  to  the  seed  in  the  screen.  After  separation  from 
the  hulls,  and  divested  of  both  fibre  and  skin,  the  kernel  passes 
through  rollers  which  crush  it  very  fine.  Thus  crushed,  it 
passes  into  steam  heated  cylinders,  wherein  are  revolving  arms 
to  agitate  the  crushed  seed,  giving  it  an  equal  exposure  to  the 
heat.  When  it  has  attained  the  stage  of  temperature  best  cal- 
culated to  make  it  yield  up  its  oil,  it  is  put  into  small  woolen 
bags,  and  placed  between  horse-hair  mats,  backed  with  leather, 
having  a  fluted  surface  inside,  to  facilitate  the  escape  of  the 
oil  under  the  hydraulic  pressure,  to  which  it  is  now  subjected 
in  the  boxes  of  the  presses. 

Each  box  compresses  one  press  bag  of  crushed  seed  at  a 
time,  the  operation  lasting  about  fifteen  minutes.  After  the 
immense  pressure  in  the  boxes,  the  residuum,  known  as  the 
cotton-seed-oil-cake  of  commerce,  is  left  quite  solid  and  al- 
most free  from  moisture,  becoming  entirely  so  after  exposure 
for  a  day  or  more  on  racks,  preparatory  to  putting  it  in  sacks 
of  about  two  hundred  pounds  each. 

When  not  thus  put  up  for  export,  it  is  dried  and  crushed 
into  a  fine  meal,  and  put  into  sacks  and  sold  for  fertilizing  or 
feeding  purposes.  As  a  fertilizer,  it  compares  favorably  with 
guano  or  any  of  the  phosphates  used  for  that  purpose.  It  is  in 
high  favor  with,  and  much  used  by,  our  sugar  planters,  who 
agree  that  it  gives  a  rapid  and  vigorous  growth  to  the  cane. 
In  this  connection  there  is  the  promise  of  a  large  outlet  for  its 
consumption  in  Louisiana.  For  the  cake  there  is  always  a 
steady  demand  for  export;  the  largo  European  consumption 


:     9 

is  the  best  evidence  of  its  value  for  feeding  stock.  It  is  classed 
as  follows  :  "Choice,"  "Prime,"  "Fair  Average  Country,"  "Or- 
dinary" and  "Dark,"  and  is  sold  according  to  quality  or  upon 
the  reputation  of  the  brand  of  each  particular  mill.  The  total 
amount  exported  for  the  nine  months  ending,  April  30th,  was 
56,000  tons. 

We  will  now  return  to  the  oil,  which,  under  the  hydraulic 
pressure,  has  been  running  from  the  boxes  into  a  tank  prepared 
to  receive  it.  If  intended  for  sale  or  export  in  the  crude  state, 
it  is  run  directly  thence  into  barrels.  Far  the  largest  propor- 
tion, however,  is  transferred  to  other  tanks  for  clarification. 
This  is  chiefly  effected  by  precipitation,  a  strong  alkali  being 
used,  generally  caustic  soda.  Every  oil  refiner  has  his  own  pe- 
culiar process — supposed  to  be  known  only  to  himself— for  this 
part  of  the  manufacture.  The  deposit  resulting  without  the  use 
of  alkali,  is  termed  "foots  :"  the  precipitate  obtained  with  it,  is 
known  as  "soap  stock."  After  the  process  of  precipitation,  the 
oil  becomes  the  refined  Cotton  Seed,  Oil  of  commerce,  and  clas- 
ses, "  Prime  "  and  "  Off  Oil."  The  crude  oil  classes,  "  Choice," 
"  Prime,"  "  lumbers  One  and  Two,"  "  Foots "  and  "  Soap 
Stock."  The  soap  stock  meets  with  a  ready  sale  for  domestic 
consumption,  as  well  as  for  export;  not  infrequently  the  mill  is 
Lghted  with  a  gas  made  from  it  on  the  premises. 

The  oil  is  the  most  important  and  most  valuable  product  of 
the  cotton  seed,  one  ton  of  seed  giving  thirty -five  gallons  of 
crude  oil,  about  eighteen  per  cent,  of  which  is  lost  in  the  refin- 
ing process.  The  oil  is  said  to  be  largely  used  by  painters,  but 
is  not  considered  desirable,  as  it  drys  too  slowly ;  nor  is  it 
used  as  a  lubricator,  being  too  gummy  for  the  purpose.  Of  all 
the  vegetable  oils  known,  cotton  seed  oil  is  the  most  available 
substitute  for  the  olive  oil  of  Italy,  France  and  Spain.  To  those 
countries  is  exported  a  large  proportion  of  our  production.  For 
the  year  ending  August  31st,  1879,  there  was  exported  to  the 
Continent,  from  the  port  of  New  Orleans  alone,  seventy-three 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-two  barrels  of  Prime,  re- 
fined, and  Off  cotton-seed  oil  (of  which  Italy  took  40,000  bar- 
rels), and  to  Liverpool,  eight  thousand  four  hundred  and  five 
barrels,  and  coastwise  only  fifty-two  hundred  and  sixty-three 
barrels.  From  the  1st  of  September,  1879,  to  April  24th,  1880, 
say  nine  months,  the  exports  from  this  port  were  :  to  the  Conti- 


10 

nent,  sixty-six  thousand  six  hundred  and  seventy-three  barrels 
of  prime  and  off  oil,  and  coastwise,  fifty- two  hundred  and  twenty- 
seven  barrels.  Now  it  is  not  for  us  to  assert  that  Italy  converts 
our  cotton  seed  oil  into  a  spurious  product  of  the  olive,  but  the 
suggestive  fact  remains  that  she  takes  annually  forty  to  fifty 
thousand  barrels  of  it  from  us,  and  the  world  must  draw  its  own 
conclusions.  We,  of  Louisiana,  have  a  shrewd  suspicion  that 
from  the  Continent  it  is  distributed  over  the  world  as  u  Olive 
Oil,"  and  truly  it  seems  such  in  jolor,  taste  and  excellence. 
Fortunately  for  the  South,  olive  oil  is  one  of  the  few  articles  of 
commerce,  the  demand  for  which  has  exceeded  the  production. 
Cotton  seed  oil  comes  in  very  opportunely  to  fill  the  gap ;  takes 
a  new  name,  serves  a  useful  purpose ;  tastes  well,  and  is  uncon- 
sciously, if  not  cheerfully,  accepted  everywhere  as  the  genuine 
article.  The  world  should  be  thankful  that  it  can  be  cheaply 
supplied  with  so  desirable  a  substitute.  Our  monopoly  of  it  as 
such  is  likely  to  be  a  long  one,  our  only  competitor  in  the  in- 
dustry being  that  far  off  ancient  land,  Egypt;  but  her  produc- 
tion is  comparatively  limited,  and  never  likely  to  injure  the  busi- 
ness in  this  country.  I  am,  however,  able  to  say  that  another 
and  more  legitimate  demand  for  our  oil  is  beginning  to  make 
itself  known,  and  bids  fair  to  become  an  increasing  one.  It 
originates  in  the  needs  of  the  world  for  the  glycerine  of  com- 
merce, extensively  used  by  the  manufacturers  of  tobacco  and 
cigars,  by  compounders  of  liquors,  medicines,  and  ointments, 
and  by  the  manufacturers  of  toilet  soaps.  It  is  one  of  the  prop- 
erties of  glycerine  never  to  become  hard,  and  it  is,  therefore, 
used  in  printers'  rollers  or  any  elastic  substance  requiring  to  be 
kept  in  a  pliable  condition.  It  is  also  the  basis  of  nitro-glyce- 
rine  and  of  various  other  explosive  compounds.  Cotton  seed 
oil  is  the  best  material  known  for  making  glycerine.  One  gal- 
lon of  crude  oil  returns  three  and  one-half  pounds  of  pure  gly- 
cerine. With  the  best  material  at  our  door,  and  with  the  finest 
climate  in  the  world  to  work  it  up,  New  Orleans  should  become 
the  chief  seat  of  its  manufacture,  and  control  the  markets  of  the 
world. 

I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Edward  Atkinson,  of  Boston,  for  the 
following  item  regarding  a  new  process  to  extract  oil  from  cot- 
ton seed : 

"  The  latest  treatment  of  cotton-seed  kernel  is  to  leach  it 


11 

with  naphtha,  by  which  method  ten  to  fifteen  per  cent,  more  oil 
is  extracted  than  can  be  had  by  pressing ;  the  naphtha  is  dis- 
tilled off,  to  be  used  again,  and  the  kernel  is  then  treated  with 
super-heated  steam,  which  leaves  it  a  perfectly  dry,  sweet,  nu- 
tritious and  digestible  food  for  animals.  It  is  alleged  that  in 
France  methods  have  been  discovered  for  procuring  a  valuable 
blue  dyestuff  from  cotton-seed." 

I  am  in  duty  bound  to  say  that  our  best  authorities,  in  the 
South,  do  not  regard  it  as  likely  to  prove  successful. 

Let  us  now  consider  and  estimate  the  value  of  the  whole  pro- 
duct for  the  year  ending,  September  1st,  1880,  From  data  in 
my  possession  it  appears  that  the  forty -one  mills,  now  in  opera- 
tion, have  the  capacity,  and  it  is  estimated  will  this  year  con- 
sume an  average  of  ten  thousand  tons  of  seed  each.  This  will 
make  their  combined  consumption  four  hundred  and  ten  thou- 
sand tons,  paid  for  at  the  rate  often  dollars  per  ton.  Here,  to 
begin  with,  is  an  increase  of  national  wealth,  amounting  to  four 
millions  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  all  secured  without 
the  addition  of  a  single  expense  that  would  not  have  been  in- 
curred had  the  extraction  of  cotton-seed  oil  never  been  known. 
Taking  my  estimate  of  the  consumption  of  seed  by  the  forty-one 
mills  this  season  as  a  basis,  the  proportion  and  value  of  the  total 
product  may  be  summed  up  as  follows  : 

410,000  tons  seed  yielding  35  gallons  crude  oil  to  the  ton,  is 

14,350,000  gallons,  worth  30  cents  per  gallon $4,305,000 

Same  amount  seed  yielding  22  ftw.  cotton  to  the  ton,  is  9,020,000 

Ibs.  cotton,  worth  8  cents  per  ft> 721,600 

And  yielding  also  750  Ibs.  oil  cake  to  the  ton,  is  137,277  tons  of 

cake,  at  $20  per  ton 2,745,540 


Makes  the  total  value  of  the  manufactured  products $7,772,140 

Deduct  the  sum  paid  for  the  seed,  say 4,100,000 


And  there  remains  for  value  gained  in  manipulation  of  seed .  .  .  $3,672,140 
Though  a  large  portion  of  this  sum  has  been  disbursed  in  the 
process  of  manufacture,  it  is  none  the  less  a  positive  gain  in 
wealth,  and,  with  the  sum  paid  for  the  seed,  makes  a  grand  total 
of  seven  millions  seven  hundred  and  seventy-two  thousand  one 
hundred  and  forty  dollars  as  the  result  of  the  industry. 

This  does  not  include  the  gains  arising  from  the  almost  end- 
less ramifications  of  the  manufacture,    Let  us  enumerate  some 


12 

of  them.  There  is  the  freight  paid  to  railroads  and  steamboats ; 
the  increase  of  marine  tonnage  brought  to  our  wharves ;  and  in 
one  way  and  another  the  wages  paid  to  thousands  of  laborers; 
besides  the  large  demand  created  for  sacks  and  bagging,  it  being 
not  unusual  for  one  mill  to  have  in  use  300,000  sacks  at  a  time. 
Much  more  might  be  specified,  but  we  think  enough  has  been 
said  to  convince  the  most  skeptical  of  the  far-reaching  impor- 
tance of  the  fabrication. 

Turning  to  the  future,  let  us  see  what  of  promise  there  is  in 
it.  Estimating  the  cotton  crop  of  1879-80  at  five  millions  five 
hundred  thousand  bales,  averaging  four  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds  each,  and  you  have  two  billions  four  hundred  and  seven- 
ty-five millions  of  pounds  of  cotton.  Now  as  every  pound  of 
cotton  on  an  average  infers  three  and  one-half  pounds  of  seed, 
the  arithmetical  sequence  is  eight  billions  five  hundred  and  sixty- 
two  millions  pounds  of  seed.  Allow  for  planting,  feeding,  fer- 
tilizing and  waste,  one-half — an  exceedingly  liberal  proportion 
— and  there  remain  four  billions  two  hundred  and  eighty-one 
millions  pounds  of  seed  nominally  available  for  the  manufacture 
of  oil,  equal  to  (less  the  estimated  consumption  of  the  year)  one 
million  seven  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  tons  of  seed,  an  ap- 
parent surplus  sufficient  for  the  wants  of  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
seven  additional  mills.  I  am  the  more  careful  to  say  apparent 
surplus,  because,  while  figures  may  not  lie,  they  are  often  falla- 
cious. What  is  true  in  the  abstract  may  be  false  in  the  concrete. 
There  is  in  fact  this  surplus  from  the  territory  as  a  whole,  but 
it  is  not  practically  true  as  applied  to  Louisiana  and  to  the  val- 
ley of  the  Mississippi,  the  mills  there  not  having  hitherto  been 
able  to  secure  seed  sufficient  to  run  them  more  than  eight 
months  of  the  year.  The  fallacy  involved  in  the  surplus  of  one 
million  seven  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  tons  is  neither  hard 
nor  far  to  find.  It  is  in  the  lack  of  transportation  facilities  and 
their  unequal  distribution  over  the  broad  area  of  cotton  culture. 
Sooner  or  later  this  difficulty  will  be  remedied.  When  the 
South  becomes  netted  and  fretted  with  railroads,  then  we  may 
expect  that  every  ton  of  surplus  seed  will  be  utilized  and  help 
to  swell  the  tide  of  general  prosperity.  The  Mississippi  Eiver, 
with  its  navigable  tributaries,  provide  the  fullest  and  cheapest 
transportation  for  all  the  products  of  the  great  valley  they  drain. 
Hence  the  larger  proportion  of  the  mills  are  found  clustering  on 


13 

her  banks,  and  if,  with  such  water  and  railway  facilities,  the 
mills  have  not  been  able  to  fully  stock  themselves,  it  may  be 
true  that,  for  the  present,  the  industry  has  attained  the  maxi- 
mum of  its  production  in  Louisiana  and  Mississippi.  It,  there- 
fore, behooves  capitalists  to  be  cautious,  at  least  for  the  present, 
where  they  invest  their  means  in  the  manufacture  of  cotton-seed 
oil.  We  know  that  where  there  is  gold,  no  matter  how  great 
the  difficulties,  men  will  seek  it.  As  the  products  of  cotton  seed 
come  into  more  general  use  they  will  increase  in  value,  and  as 
soon  as  they  do  so,  railroads  will  be  built  to  bring  them  to  a 
market. 

I  come  last  to  consider  the  subject  as  connected  with  our 
profession.  Viewed  from  this  standpoint,  we  are  more  immedi- 
ately concerned  with  the  average  mill  of  to-day,  but  in  discuss- 
ing it,  the  drift  of  my  remarks  will  naturally  tend  toward  the 
ideal  mill  of  the  future.  As  regards  precautions  and  appliances 
tending  to  improve  the  physical  hazard,  it  is  well  we  should 
know  all  about  them,  and  keep  abreast  of  every  invention  in  that 
direction. 

The  consideration  of  the  mill  itself,  as  well  as  the  discussion 
of  precautions  and  appliances,  will  afford  us  the  opportunity  of 
putting  on  record  a  few  suggestions  that  may  be  useful  to  our 
profession,  and  perhaps  may  benefit  those  who  may  invest  their 
capital  in  the  business  hereafter. 

The  buildings  and  machinery,  representing  a  large  pecuniary 
value,  should,  for  that  reason,  if  possible,  be  entirely  free  from 
exposure.  The  buildings  should  be  as  neaily  fire-proof  as  pos- 
sible ;  brick  is  conceded  to  be  the  most  suitable  building  mate- 
rial, and  supplemented  with  slate  or  metal  roofing,  best  secures 
that  result.  The  space  allotted  to  each  department  of  the  manu- 
facture should  be  ample,  and  walls  and  ceilings  should  be 
smoothly  coated  with  fire-proof  mineral  paint,  which  would  fa- 
cilitate the  removal,  if  it  did  not  prevent  the  accumulation,  of 
dust  and  fibre,  always  an  element  of  danger.  The  plan  of  the 
building  should  contemplate  a  division  of  the  risk,  and  this 
has  been  found  not  incompatible  with  convenience  and  economy 
in  carrying  on  the  business,  thus  tending  to  greater  safety,  and, 
in  case  of  fire,  securing  salvage.  The  main  building 
and  machinery  can,  in  a  measure,  be  substantially  separated 
from  the  storage  of  the  seed,  sacks,  bagging  and  manufactured 


14 

products.  All  safeguards  and  all  improved  appliances  to  ex- 
tinguish fires,  should  be  supplied  and  kept  in  order.  Aside  from 
what  would  seem  the  selfish  interest  of  our  profession,  allow  me 
to  urge  some  reasons  why  we  may  with  propriety  make  these 
suggestions.  For  the  loss  of  his  property  the  assured  may  be 
indemnified,  but  to  the  nation,  for  material  wealth  gone  to  smoke 
and  ashes,  there  is,  in  one  sense,  no  indemnity;  it  is  lost  forever. 
There  is,  besides,  the  economic  fact  that  every  increase  of  ex- 
posure involves  an  increase  of  premium  which  can  be  saved. 
Consideration  is  very  properly  due  to  the  insurance  capital  that 
protects  the  industry,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  proper  regard 
should  be  had  for  the  personal  safety  of  the  operatives,  especially 
in  view  of  their  responsibilities  as  heads  of  families,  to  whom 
any  interruption  in  their  daily  labor  is  a  calamity.  Incentives 
of  this  nature  are  sustained  by  the  reflection  that  every  man 
owes  to  society  an  example  of  prudence  and  consideration  for 
others. 

This  paper  would  be  incomplete  if  I  did  not  allude  to  the 
different  hazards  peculiar  to  the  fabrication,  which  exist  in  most 
of  the  mills  now  working,  but  they  can  in  a  measure  be  avoided, 
as  I  will  proceed  to  explain.  In  the  linters  the  danger  has  been 
greatly  lessened  by  the  attachment  of  condensers  which  dis- 
charge the  cotton  in  a  comparatively  compact  form,  somewhat 
similar  to  batting,  thus  decreasing  dust  and  floating  fibre.  An- 
other safeguard  is  found  in  the  thorough  sifting  of  the  seed  be- 
fore going  to  the  linters,  and  has  a  fourfold  advantage :  it  removes 
a  great  deal  of  dust  before  the  hulling  process  begins ;  it  saves 
much  wear  and  tear  to  the  teeth  of  the  saws;  it  lessens  the 
danger  of  fire  from  contact  of  foreign  substances  with  them,  and 
it  improves  the  quality  of  all  the  products.  Next  in  order  as  an 
element  of  danger,  we  may  rank  spontaneous  combustion.  All 
vegetable  seeds  and  oils  have  a  natural  proclivity  in  this  direc- 
tion. It  may  be  caused  by  the  lack  of  proper  ventilation  of  the 
seed  stored  in  bulk,  or  it  may  be  due  to  a  want  of  care  and 
cleanliness  in  the  disposition  of  the  waste  and  rubbish,  insepa- 
rable from  the  manufacture.  Another  source  of  danger  is  found 
in  the  friction  incidental  to  bands  and  journals,  but  easily  reme- 
died by  the  use  of  proper  lubricating  oils  and  constant  cleanli- 
ness. It  is  as  well  to  say  that  the  lack  of  systematic  vigilance 
and  intelligent  attention,  on  the  part  of  the  superintendent,  to 


15 

the  daily  and  hourly  working  of  the  mill,  has  also  sometimes 
ended  in  disaster,  and  should  be  guarded  against.  We  have 
now  enumerated  the  most  common  sources  of  danger.  From 
my  investigation  of  them  I  am  encouraged  to  believe  that  they 
can  be  materially  lessened. 

We  now  come  to  consider  the  best  method  of  extinguishing 
fires.  Before  proceeding  with  this  part  of  the  subject,  I  will 
state  that  I  have  found  a  very  general  concurrence  of  opinion 
among  the  managers  of  mills  to  this  effect;  that  no  measures 
adopted  to  extinguish  fires,  whether  by  steam,  water,  or  water 
charged  with  carbonic  acid  gas,  can  be  safely  depended  upon  for 
effective  service,  unless  supplemented  by  a  disciplined  organiza- 
tion of  the  employees  of  the  factory  to  carry  them  out. 

From  my  own  observation,  it  is  safe  to  make  two  assertions, 
the  truth  of  which  I  think  will  be  generally  conceded.  First, 
that  eighty  per  cent,  of  all  fires  are  discovered  in  their  incipi- 
ency,  and  would  never  have  originated  had  proper  precautions 
been  taken  to  prevent  them.  Second,  that  when  they  did  origi- 
nate, they  could  easily  have  been  extinguished  had  the  requisite 
appliances  been  ready  at  hand.  I  say  this  more  particularly 
with  reference  to  cotton-seed  oil  mills,  but  substantially  the 
same  remarks  will  apply  to  all  manufacturing  risks. 

Of  all  the  methods  of  extinguishing  fires,  I  am  most  favora- 
bly impressed  with  that  of  water  charged  with  carbonic  acid 
gas;  not,  however,  dispensing  with  a  plentiful  supply  of  common 
water  and  the  proper  apparatus  to  utilize  it.  Water  can  be 
charged  with  five  hundred  times  its  own  bulk  of  carbonic  acid 
gas,  and  thus  combined  is  very  effective  in  extinguishing  fires ; 
for,  as  is  well  known,  fire  cannot  exist  in  the  presence  of  its  two 
great  antagonistic  elements,  water  and  carbonic  acid  gas.  This 
is  particularly  true  as  applied  to  what  may  be  termed  surface 
fires,  and  oils  are  always  such.  Carbonic  acid  gas  apparatus  has 
these  advantages :  it  costs  less,  and  is  more  apt  to  keep  in  order 
than  water-appliances.  The  stationary  chemical  tank,  holdingj 
say,  not  less  than  four  hundred  gallons,  is  now  being  generally 
introduced  into  manufacturing  establishments.  Assuming  the 
tank  to  be  in  position  near  the  engineer,  and  connecting  with 
every  department  of  the  mill  by  stand-pipes  and  rubber  hose,  it 
can  be  almost  instantly  utilized  by  signal  from  a  bell  or  electric 
button.  The  signal  once  given,  it  can  be  operated  by  a  single 


16 

person,  and  will  deliver  a  powerful  stream,  in  less  than  a  quar- 
ter of  a  minute,  in  any  part  of  the  building.  One  of  these  tanks 
in  the  Eagle  and  Phoenix  Cotton  Mill,  at  Columbus,  Ga.,  recent- 
ly did  very  great  service  in  a  serious  emergency,  and  was  the 
means  of  extinguishing  what  might  have  proved  a  disastrous 
fire.  However,  it  is  well  to  remember  that  it  is  only  at  the 
inception  of  a  fire  that  chemical  apparatus  render  the  most 
valuable  service;  for  when  a  certain  degree  of  heat  is 
reached  within  a  burning  building,  the  carbonic  acid  gasceases 
to  be  effective.  For  this  reason  I  have  coupled  with  my  recom- 
mendation of  ther  adoption,  the  necessity  also  of  a  plentiful  sup- 
ply of  common  water,  and  the  appliances  necessary  to  utilize  it; 
then,  if  the  carbonic  acid  gas  proves  insufficient,  the  water  (al- 
ways a  desirable  adjunct),  remains  available.  The  modes  of 
utilizing  steam  or  water  as  a  means  of  protection,  have  been  so 
often  treated  of  that  I  do  not  think  it  necessary  to  discuss  them 
here. 

We  have  spoken  of  appliances,  and  it  is,  therefore,  proper  that 
we  should  say  a  few  words  in  reference  to  precautions.  It  seems 
almost  presumptuous  in  one  who  has  had  no  personal  experience 
with  either  one  or  the  other  to  discuss  them.  Availing  myself  of 
the  knowledge  of 'others,  I  will,  nevertheless,  make  mention  of  the 
more  obvious  and  necessary  ones. 

If  it  be  true,  that  an  organization  of  the  employees  is  desirable 
to  make  appliances  effective,  it  is  not  the  less  true  that  the  superin- 
tendent should  be  fully  empowered  to  prescribe,  introduce,  and 
have  entire  control  of,  all  precautions  his  experience  may  dictate. 
Too  often,  from  ignorance  or  parsimony,  he  is  restricted  in  carrying 
out  his  own  ideas  of  what  is  needful.  This  should  not  be.  He  is 
most  responsible  for  the  safety  of  the  property,  and  should  be  au- 
thorized to  use  his  own  best  judgment  in  all  that  concerns  its  pro- 
tection. The  1  inters  being  the  most  frequent  source  of  danger, 
should  never  be  left  unwatched  while  the  machinery  is  in  motion. 
The  walls  and  ceilings  of  the  lint  room  should  be  kept  free  from 
any  accumulation  of  dust  or  fibre.  Of  course,  there  should  be  a 
night  watchman,  whose  vigilance  should  be  controlled  by  some  of 
the  various  devices  for  that  purpose. 

I  beg  to  say  that  I  had  hoped,  in  the  investigation  of  my  subject, 
to  gather  such  statistics  as  would  enable  me  to  arrive  at  an  ade- 
quate rate  of  premium  for  Cotton-Seed  Oil  Mills,  but  the  imperfect 


data  I  have  secured  does  not  justify  my  drawing  any  conclusions. 
So  far  as  my  information  shows,  the  average  rate  of  premium,  now 
paid  on  all  the  mills,  is  3J  per  cent. ;  but  an  average  rate  is  not  a 
fair  criterion  upon  which  to  base  the  rate  for  any  particular  mill, 
for  if  there  be  a  class  of  hazards  where  each  particular  risk  should 
stand  on  its  own  merits,  it  is  the  cotton-seed  oil  mill.  It  would  be 
in  the  interest  of  correct  underwriting  to  adopt  a  basis  rate  of  say 
2J  per  cent,  for  standard  mills,  and  to  graduate  from  that  figure  up 
to  5  per  cent. ,  in  proportion  as  each  mill  falls  short  of,  or  approxi- 
mates, the  standard.  This  would  be  just  to  the  assured,  just  to  the 
assurer,  and  would  be  an  incentive  to  improvement  in  the  character 
of  all  the  mills. 

It  will  interest  you  to  know  that  since  the  war  fourteen  mills  in 
all  have  been  destroyed  by  fire,  distributed  as  follows  :  In  Louisi- 
ana, four;  Mississippi,  four;  Texas,  two ;  Arkansas,  two;  Tennes- 
see, two ;  an  average  of  one  mill  per  annum.  The  origin  of  the 
fires  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  ascertain,  were,  one  from  gross 
carelessness,  two  from  spontaneous  combustion,  three  from  lack  of 
proper  precautions  in  the  lint  room,  one  from  incendiarism,  two 
from  the  addition  of  cotton  ginning  as  a  business,  and  five  from 
causes  unknown.  Permit  me  to  say  that,  in  view  of  the  increase  of 
this  industry  in  the  future,  it  is  hoped  that  with  the  progress  now 
making  in  improvements  and  appliances,  the  insurance  capital  of 
the  country  will  be  justified  in  protecting  it  at  reasonable  rates  of 
premium. 

In  conclusion,  gentlemen,  I  must  apologize  for  having  devoted 
so  large  a  proportion  of  my  paper  to  the  origin  and  history  of  cot- 
ton-seed oil.  But  as  a  Louisianian  I  am  constrained  to  make,  at 
least,  a  note  of  the  share  her  citizens  have  had  in  the  enterprise ;  to 
pay  a  tribute  to  the  memory  and  worth  of  those  who  are  gone ;  and 
to  record  with  pride  the  value  of  the  services  rendered  by  all.  By 
their  foresight,  genius  and  industry  they  conferred  a  great  blessing 
on  their  country,  and  deserve  well  of  it  for  having  done  so. 

HEKRY  Y.  OGDEN. 


HOME  USE 

CIRCULATION  DEPARTMENT 
MAIN  LIBRARY 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 
1 -month  loans  may  be  renewed  by  calling  642-3405. 
6-month  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bringing  books 

to  Circulation  Desk. 
Renewals  and  recharges  may  be  made  4  days  prior 

to  due  date. 

ALL  BOOKS  ARE  SUBJECT  TO  RECALL  7  DAYS 
AFTER  DATE  CHECKED  OUT. 


LD21 — A-40m-8,'75 
(S7737L) 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


476426 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


